According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a haiku is a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. The haiku became a separate form of poetry in the 17th century. We also humbly give attribution to "YourDictionary" for the following additional information about Haiku which we hope you find illuminating.
There were four master haiku poets from Japan, known as "the Great Four:" Matsuo Basho, Kobayashi Issa, Masaoka Shiki, and Yosa Buson. Their work is still the model for traditional haiku writing today.
Matsuo Basho
Here are three examples of haiku poems from Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), considered the greatest haiku poet:
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
Autumn moonlight-
a worm digs silently
into the chestnut.
In the twilight rain
these brilliant-hued hibiscus -
A lovely sunset.
Yosa Buson
Here are three examples of haiku poems from Yosa Buson (1716-1784), a haiku master poet and painter:
A summer river being crossed
how pleasing
with sandals in my hands!
Light of the moon
Moves west, flowers' shadows
Creep eastward.
In the moonlight,
The color and scent of the wisteria
Seems far away.
O snail
Climb Mount Fuji,
But slowly, slowly!
Trusting the Buddha, good and bad,
I bid farewell
To the departing year.
Everything I touch
with tenderness, alas,
pricks like a bramble.
Here are seven examples of haiku poems from Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), who is credited with reviving the haiku and developing its modern format:
I want to sleep
Swat the flies
Softly, please.
After killing
a spider, how lonely I feel
in the cold of night!
For love and for hate
I swat a fly and offer it
to an ant.
A mountain village
under the piled-up snow
the sound of water.
Night; and once again,
the while I wait for you, cold wind
turns into rain.
The summer river:
although there is a bridge, my horse
goes through the water.
A lightning flash:
between the forest trees
I have seen water.
Modern Haiku
Many modern western poets do not subscribe to the 5-7-5 pattern. The Academy of American Poets recognizes this evolution, but maintains that several core principles remain woven into the tapestry of modern haiku. That is, a haiku still focuses on one brief moment in time, employs provocative, colorful imagery, and provides a sudden moment of illumination. Here are seven examples of 20th-century haiku poems:
From across the lake,
Past the black winter trees,
Faint sounds of a flute.
- Richard Wright
Lily:
out of the water
out of itself
- Nick Virgilio
ground squirrel
balancing its tomato
on the garden fence
- Don Eulert
Nightfall,
Too dark to read the page
Too cold.
- Jack Kerouac
Just friends:
he watches my gauze dress
blowing on the line.
- Alexis Rotella
A little boy sings
on a terrace, eyes aglow.
Ridge spills upward.
- Robert Yehling
meteor shower
a gentle wave
wets our sandals
- Michael Dylan Welch
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